Born, Live, Die a Freak
by MustangSnape
Summary: Seven year old Harry lives with his abusive uncle and cousin. His aunt contacts the magical world to find a better home for him. Who would end up taking in the little boy? Severus Snape of course!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I haven't had any time to write anything lately. I've been caught up in a ton of school work. I started this story and I'm not sure it's any good…it's probably isn't considering that it's 10:00 at night and I have no beta. Please excuse any mistakes!**

**WARNINGS: abuse, language… you have been warned**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything familiar!**

**Now onto the story!**

**MSMSMSMS**

Harry groaned as he came to. Looking around he realized that his hands were tied to the ceiling and his backside was bare. He heard a whizzing sound near his head and heard, then felt the sharp slap as the belt was brought down hard on his rear end. He gave a sharp cry, more out of shock than pain.

"This one is for getting a better grade than Dudley! This one is for being a freak! This one is for existing!" Vernon shouted bringing down the belt again and again on the little seven year old. "Are you gonna start crying now? Freak! You're nothing but a weakling and a coward, unlike my Duddykins! You're nothing but a piece of shit! Now do as you're told and make us dinner!" With that said Vernon gave one more blow before releasing the battered and bleeding boy. "Now, Freak, repeat after me: I am nothing but a freak. I was born as a freak, I live as a freak, and I will die as a freak. No one will miss me when I'm dead."

"I am nothing but a freak. I was born as a freak, I live as a freak, and I will die as a freak. No one will miss me when I'm dead," Harry spoke in a robotic voice, as if he were brain washed into saying this every day. Wiping away his tears, the little boy ran towards the kitchen to fix dinner.

"Hey, Freak, I'm hungry! Make me a chocolate cake!" Dudley said as he sat at the table. Vernon walked down the stairs and gave a look to Harry that said, "do it or else…"

Harry rushed to get all the ingredients to make the cake. As he got the eggs out of the fridge, one fell out of the bowl and made a mess on the floor. Before anyone had time to react, Petunia started to clean up the mess.

"Don't worry Vernon, it was a mistake," she told her husband, watching him turn from red to purple.

Out of the whole family, Petunia was the only one who worried about Harry. She tried to stand up for him when she could, but she was too afraid of Vernon. She thought of when Vernon started treating Harry badly. It was just over a year ago when he was fired from his job. He came home one night and was drunk. Harry greeted him at the door, but instead of the warm welcoming hug he was used to getting, he got a punch in the face. Dudley, not really understanding everything completely, followed his dad's footsteps and turned against his cousin. Deciding that she couldn't stand to watch her nephew get beat up again, she decided to contact the magical world to see if they could find somebody to take Harry in. Remembering the old squib down the street, she decided to see if the cat lady would contact Dumbledore.

Knocking on Ms. Figg's door, Petunia wrung her hands nervously. The door opened and a woman peered around the corner. Petunia gave a warm smile to reassure the squib that she came in peace.

"Hello, Ms. Figg. I am aware that you happen to still be connected to the magical world, although you, yourself, have no magic. Is that correct?" when the old lady gave a polite nod she continued. "Do you happen to have a way for me to be able to contact the headmaster of that magical school…Hogmarts or something?"

"It's Hogwarts, and yes. You can use the floo. Simply throw some of that green power into the fire place and shout "Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office."

Following her directions, Petunia was soon speaking with Dumbledore. "Hello sir. I have bad news. My family is unable to care for Harry anymore, is there anyone, anyone at all, who is willing to take the boy in? I'm begging you, Albus, on Harry's life."

"Hmmm… I do have one candidate… would you hold on a second please? Let me ask him, he's in my office as we speak." The headmaster stood up from the fireplace and looked towards the man in the claw-footed chair. "Severus?"

**MSMSMSMS**

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the next chapter of the story! Thanks for all the favorites and story alerts! Thanks for the reviews. I have a habit of writing short chapters, but I'm going to try really hard to make them longer. Sorry it took so long to update, I normally update once a week or every other week depending on school work, (either Sunday or Saturday) but my computer got the "Blue Screen of Death" and kept crashing… but we figured it out and now I'm back! **

**A special thanks to Brodus for pointing out my mistakes in my last chapter. I have fixed them and added a new line.**

**Warning: language, child abuse…etc...  
>Usual disclaimer applies.<br>Onto the story! Enjoy!**

**MSMSMSMS**

Previously: _"Hmmm… I do have one candidate… would you hold on a second please? Let me ask him, he's in my office as we speak." The headmaster stood up from the fireplace and looked towards the man in the claw-footed chair. "Severus?"_

At the sound of his name the potion professor turned towards his mentor. "Yes?" He asked raising a thin black eyebrow.

"It seems as though Harry's family is…unable to take care of him. His aunt, Petunia, asked me to find anyone who is willing to take in the boy. Do you know of anyone?"

"Surly headmaster, you aren't speaking of Harry Potter are you?" He received a nod, "and surely you weren't hoping I'd volunteered myself…though that twinkle in your eyes suggest otherwise."

"Now Severus, think about this carefully, Harry Potter may be getting neglected at his home. He's only seven Severus! Surly you don't want that to happen to anyone, do you? You for all people know what it is like. At least you had your mother to protect you… Harry has no one."

"Quiet!" Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, searching desperately for a likely candidate. "The Weasleys! What about Molly and Arthur? Perhaps Ms. Dursley is simply trying to get rid of Potter because he's too greedy?" Severus offered.

"No Severus, the Weasleys have too many children to take care of right now, including a son Harry's age and a baby girl. Please, my boy? At least go to Privet drive and check up on him. If there is any, and I mean any, sign of abuse take him away and bring him here. That was an order, not a suggestion." Throwing the crazy old coot an evil scowl, Severus gave a mock bow and stalked out the door.

**MSMSMSMS**

'Why on earth do I have to go and check up on that Potter brat? He's probably treated like a king, and Petunia finally got sick of it!' Severus thought to himself as he donned on his black cloak and made his way to the apparition point where he spun on the spot and disappeared.

Severus landed in the alley near Potter's home with a loud crack. Wiping the non-existing dust off of himself, he began to make his way towards the house. When he knocked on the door, a large boy, almost the size of a small whale, opened the door. 'Well this isn't Potter, he doesn't have the famous scar. If he is the size of a small whale, I'm afraid to even think of how big Potter must be,' he thought to himself.

"What do you want?" The little whale asked him. Behind him he heard another male ask "Who is it?" Said man appeared two seconds later carrying a box of chocolate donuts.

"Hello sir. You must be Mr. Vernon Dursley? I'm Severus Snape from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wiz-" that's as far as he got before the door was rudely shut in his face. Waiting for five seconds, Snape knocked again. This time no one answered the door, but he heard muffled shouting and then a loud thump. The door was reopened and Vernon shoved a skeleton into Severus's hands.

"There you go! You can return to your freakish world now, and feel free to take that freak along with you!" Vernon shouted then went back inside the house.

Severus looked down at the pile of bones in his arms and drew in a deep breath. The skeleton was covered in skin and blood. It had a beating heart. It was alive. Severus carefully moved the black hair, which was matted and clumpy from dried blood, to see a lightning bolt scar. 'Oh god! This isn't good!' As much as Severus loathed admitting it he knew that he had been wrong. Potter wasn't growing up spoiled rotten. Looking down at the child in his arms he sighed. The body wasn't in any condition to apparate with so he'd have to use Ms. Figg's floo.

**MSMSMSMS**

Snape stumbled out of the fireplace in the headmaster's office clutching the child in his arms. "Get Poppy!" he shouted at Albus. Two minutes later the healer flooed in muttering under her breath about how there must be some kind of emergency. She hated being interrupted in the middle of medical research, but as soon as she saw Harry she stopped talking and rushed Severus to a stretcher she magically transformed from a quill. "Lay him down nice and easy, I don't want him more broken than he already is."

As Severus lowered the boy, the small fingers tightened around his neck. A small whimper escaped his mouth. "Don't leave me…" he pleaded as he held on to the one person who showed him compassion.

Unsure of what to do Severus looked towards Albus for guidance. Dumbledore only smiled sadly at him, before turning around and walking away. Turning back to Potter…Harry…. Severus hushed the little boy's cries saying, "Shush Harry. I'm here. Relax. No one will hurt you," over and over again.

"I'm going to give him a sip of a dreamless sleep potion, and then I need help cleaning off all this blood Severus," Poppy told him, wrinkling her nose in disgust at what monsters humans could be to their own kind. For the next twenty minutes she and Severus worked on removing all the blood and healing the minor wounds. They then worked on stabilizing the major ones on the boy's stomach before carefully turning him over to reveal his back. They gasped at the many scars that covered the boy's body as well as the whip marks across Harry's backside.

"Those MONSTERS! They used a whip Poppy! A WHIP on a _seven_ year old! Who deserves this? Even my father didn't use whips on me…until I was older at least…" Severus looked away, shaking in anger. "I'll be back in a moment Poppy. I must go down to my private storage and get my strongest healing balm." He left swiftly, his black cloak billowing behind him emphasizing his fury.

Watching her colleague exit the infirmary, Poppy sighed. Never in her life did she ever see a child this young beaten this badly, granted she usually worked with eleven-year-olds and above. Taking out her wand, she waved it over the boy's body muttering a charm. Immediately a long piece of parchment started springing out of her wand. The length of the parchment measured out to be five feet in the end. It listed every injury, major and minor, from the moment Harry was born. Knowing the first couple injuries were not from abuse, since his parents would have been there to take care of him at the time, Poppy skipped to the bullet that read "caught a cold and left untreated." The injuries began as trivial injuries, but as time went on got progressively worst. The list included five broken bones; all healed incorrectly, ten burn scars, and multiple whip marks and knife wounds.

Severus banged the doors open and stalked back over to Harry's bed. He quietly handed the balm to Poppy, and she handed him the list. Severus carefully looked over the injuries Harry received while Poppy soothed the balm over Harry's wounds. Right before her eyes the raw flesh scabbed over. She was so engrossed with her work she missed Severus leaving, and jumped when the doors slammed shut as he passed through them.

**A/N: Okay, so I want to know if you would like longer chapters. You can have shorter chapters and have an update every week, or you can have longer chapters updated in two weeks or so. Summer vacation is almost here so the waiting won't be as long. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Here's the next chapter, enjoy :)**

**MSMSMSMS**

Previously: _Severus banged the doors open and stalked back over to Harry's bed. He quietly handed the balm to Poppy, and she handed him the list. Severus carefully looked over the injuries Harry received while Poppy soothed the balm over Harry's wounds. Right before her eyes the raw flesh scabbed over. She was so engrossed with her work she missed Severus leaving, and jumped when the doors slammed shut as he passed through them._

Severus stormed out of the castle, his wand spitting red sparks when he thought about all the rotten things that has happened to Harry. He knew he needed to calm down, so he decided to take a walk around the Black Lake. Snape stayed outside until the sun began to set, and the breeze that felt good in the beating sun turned cold. Then he walked back into the castle and up to the headmaster's office. He raised his hand to knock, but the older professor beat him to it and opened the door.

"Good evening Severus, have you calmed down?" Albus stepped aside to let the potion master in. Once they were both in, he closed the door and walked behind his desk. He picked up a trinket and started playing with it.

"Headmaster, you cannot send Harry back. However, summer is almost over, and the children will arrive soon for another year. I can't take him in, it's too... dangerous. You and I both know the Dark Lord will arise again. I must seem like a faithful servant to him, how would I be able to do that with the child the Dark Lord's after is in my care? Besides, the Ministry of Magic would never allow an ex-death eater to take in the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Fear not, my boy. The MoM will allow you to take care of Harry if you wish. As for Voldemort, we will deal with him when the time comes. Right now, however, we need to take care of Harry. Minerva, I'm sure, would love to help you take care of the little boy, as well as all the other staff. Help will come to those who ask for it."

"I should talk to the boy first. See if he would like to come and stay with me, though how could he not? I know I'm not a nice fellow, but I am 98 percent better than those muggles. Alright Albus, I'll take the boy in. I hope you realize that just because he is "boy wonder" I won't be spoiling him."

"Good, good. I will have the adoption papers brought to you sometime tomorrow, that is if Harry agrees to live with you. Do you want to blood adopt him Severus?"

Severus thought for a moment. Blood adoption would change the boy's DNA to make him related to Severus. The features that Harry had gotten from James would change to look like his. Whatever Harry got from his mother would stay, including his emerald green eyes. The potion master knew that he would never have kids on his own. He had decided on his answer. "Yes, Albus."

**MSMSMSMS**

Harry woke up scared and alone in a place he'd never seen before. Everything was white, the walls, the beds, the sheets. He noticed that he felt better than he had in a long time. He moved to sit up, and was startled to see a tall man in black walk through the doors and towards his bed. The man looked familiar. 'Where have I seen him before? Oh! Last night, he was the one who took me away from my aunty and uncle.'

"Hello, Harry," the man spoke in a deep voice. "I'm Severus Snape. Yesterday I took you to a castle called Hogwarts. It's a school for witchcraft and wizardry. Madam Pomfrey and I took good care of you. We healed your wounds Harry. Now I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but bare with me please Harry. Do you want to go back to your aunt and uncle?" Severus spoke as gently as he could to the small child. He squinted from the sunlight that began to make its way over the horizon and through the window.

"No! Please sir! Don't send me back to them. I'll be good…" the boy looked down at his lap.

"Harry. Look at me. I have something to ask you. Would you like to become my son? I can adopt you and take you away from those mean muggles forever."

"What are muggles?" Harry cocked his head confused.

"They are humans who don't possess magic. I am a wizard Harry." Severus took out his wand and transfigured a pillow into a chair for him to sit on.

"Woah! That's so cool! But my uncle says that magic isn't real. He told me only freakish people can do magic. People like me. I am nothing but a freak. I was born as a freak, I live as a freak, and I will die as a freak. No one will miss me when I'm dead." Harry's eyes glazed over as he spoke the last few sentences.

'Merlin be damned! They brain washed the boy!' Severus thought to himself. "Harry. You are not a freak. You were never a freak. People will miss you when you're dead. Harry you are a wizard, and if you decided that you would like to live with me, than I can show you how to control your magic. You will be taught different spells, and no one will ever abuse you again," he spoke in a stern voice, making sure Harry understood that he meant what he said.

The boy was silent for a few moments before Severus was given a response. "Yes, please sir. I'd love to become your son."

"We'll get right to it then Harry. Now I need to tell you something else. I'm not just going to adopt you, I am going to _blood_ adopt you. This means that you won't look like James Potter, your biological father, but you'll look like me. Is that okay with you?" Severus wanted Harry to feel as if he did have a say in things. He wanted to show the boy that his opinion was important.

Harry nodded his head enthusiastically. 'I'm going to have a father! I'm going to be a son! I'm going to have a _real_ family!' he thought happily to himself. "How long will I be in here sir? I don't like everything being white."

Severus chuckled. "Hopefully Madam Pomfrey will allow you out of the hospital wing by the end of today." He looked around the room. Harry was right, it was too white. There was a popping sound and all of a sudden the walls became a dark blue. Shocked, Snape turned back to Harry.

"I'm sorry sir! I didn't mean to! I was just thinking that blue would be a lovely color for the walls! Please sir, don't send me back! I'll behave I promise!" Harry started hyperventilating as he chanted, "I am nothing but a freak. I was born as a freak, I live as a freak, and I will die as a freak. No one will miss me when I'm dead," again and again.

Severus panicked. He couldn't get Harry to focus on him. He took out his wand and called out, "Expecto patronum," a shining white doe appeared galloping around the room before stopping gracefully in front of him. "Find Poppy and tell her the boy is hyperventilating," the doe bowed and bounded out the door.

While Severus waited for the healer, he took Potter into his arms and started rocking him back and forth shushing him. His right hand making small circles on Harry's back. Snape could feel every vertebra underneath the skin, and knew that the boy was severely malnourished and undernourished. Harry began to calm down, his breathing slowed to its normal pace.

"Will you send me away now sir?" Harry looked at Severus with fearful eyes.

"No. You will never go back there Harry. And never say that you are a freak again. Harry. Am I a freak?" Harry shook his head no. "Then you are not a freak either, because you and I are the same. If you are a freak then so am I." The boy thought about this before shyly looking up into the potion master's eyes. He slowly lifted the corners of his lips into a smile, as if afraid he'd he yelled at for being happy.

Madam Pomfrey came running into the room, her hair sticking out in weird places, and she was out of breath. "I got your message Severus. I was at Hagrid's hut when your patronus found me, and I ran all the way here, but it looks as if you managed to get everything under control. You even got the boy to smile! Hello Harry. I'm Madam Pomfrey. I'm a healer, which is like a muggle doctor. Can I do a quick check-up on you?"

**A/N: Yay! I got another chapter done! If you find any mistakes please point them out to me. Till next chapter, adieu. **


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